1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a security housing for locking oil storage tank valves. More specifically, the invention relates to a clamshell structure that attaches to an oil storage tank in the vicinity of an outlet valve and pivotally encloses the valve, thus restricting physical access to the locked valve.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Problems associated with unauthorized access to stored petrochemicals or refined and crude oil, particularly in remote field storage tanks, are well recognized and extremely costly whether involving mistakes, accident, vandalism or theft. Consequently, it is a common practice to provide some form of locking mechanism for preventing unauthorized opening of the oil stroage tank valves. It is known to design valves with lock eyelets wherein a padlock can be employed to lock the valve mechanism. However, in the case of theft, an exposed padlock can be easily removed by use of a chain cutter or the like. Thus, the need for a convenient and reliable method of detering illegal access to oil storage tank valves still exists.